A whopping US$25 million is being invested by the Greenville Technical College and the Clemson University to establish a new center that will offer hands-on training to students so they can land high paying jobs in sectors such as transportation, automotive, and others. This new facility will be christened the ‘Center for Manufacturing Innovation’. The initiative also marks a strategic partnership between the two institutions as well as the local school district. A number of top manufacturers located in the area will also form a part of this partnership. These include names such as General Electric, BMW, Bosch Rexroth and Michelin.The ground breaking ceremony for the new center was held at Greenville, near Clemson’s I-CAR, an institute that is committed to automotive research. The Center for Manufacturing Innovation will be dedicated to helping increase the number of skilled workers for manufacturing facilities in the South Carolina upstate region.

Students will be able to enroll for dual-credit programs at the center, and they will also have the option of working at Greenville County schools to encourage more students in advanced manufacturing careers. A part of the this program is dedicated to encouraging more younger students to enroll for high-tech manufacturing programs so as to carve out a career in highly skilled areas. Officials running the program hope to achieve this through informative camps and organized tours of the Center for Manufacturing Innovation.

Apprenticeships and internships are an integral part of this course, where students will be able to work alongside experienced members of the faculty and engineers.A US$25 million bond issue was approved for Greenville Tech in 2013 by the Greenville County Council approved. According to Greenville Tech’s president Keith Miller, the new center could mark a game-changing approach to education.